3 August 2012

Prevention of Armed Conflict: The situation in the Syrian Arab Republic

(3 August 2012)

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Mr. President,

My delegation has asked for the floor to explain its position regarding the draft resolution contained in document A/66/L.57 before the vote.

In view of my Delegation, the Draft Resolution is a deviation of all the efforts that are pursued at the international level for a peaceful resolution to the Syrian crisis. This draft is also a deviation of the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and the international law which prohibits interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states. The draft echoes malicious desire of certain countries in toppling the Government in Syria. This is an illegal action and condemnable by International law. It is only the Syrian people who should decide on their political fate.

The draft resolution fails to address the disastrous consequences of different forms of foreign interventions. What have exacerbated the crisis in Syria are such interventions in terms of arms and sophisticated equipment that are sent across the borders to the rebels. This has added fuel onto the fire leading to deepening of political and security crisis with all its ramifications to the region. In recent months many terrorist attacks occurred in Syria, the latest of which took the lives of a number of high officials in Damascus. The armed groups operations in Aleppo in the last couple of days have already left a heavy toll in human lives and property. The draft fails to hold armed groups and terrorist groups led by Al Ghaeda accountable for their activities and fall short of condemning foreign interferences and acts of violence by terrorists. It is clear who are behind arming and financing the armed groups and terrorist groups in Syria, some of whom are regrettably among the sponsors of the resolution.

The Draft encourages the Member States to impose sanctions against Syria at a time that the people in affected areas are in dire need of basic living necessities. The call for sanctions constitutes a collective punishment against the Syrian people. What is needed instead is a call on states to freeze any arms, financial and logistical support to armed groups in Syria.

We regret very much that Mr. Kofi Annan decided to end his work by the end of this month. We of course understand the reasons for his decision and arduous position he faced in advancing his mission. This is not a hidden fact that after the recent meeting of the Security Council some permanent members rushed to pronounce the Mission of the Special Envoy as dead and indicated that they would immediately pursue other means than the Security Council to overthrow the government in Syria. This approach is a blatant interference in Syria’s internal affairs. We hope that Mr. Kofi Annan follows rigorously for the rest of remaining days of his office to pursue the goal of finding a peaceful political settlement to the Syrian crisis. We wish also that his replacement would work along the same line and within the same mandate which is finding a non-violent solution to the crisis. It is only through such a process that a broader political reconciliation, national unity, public order, stability and prosperity are realizable for the Syrian people.

We are very concerned about the regional consequences of the continuation of violence and any violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. We encourage the political parties to engage in political dialogue with the Syrian government in order to find a peaceful political process. In this regard we reiterate our readiness to host talks between the Syrian government and opposition parties.

As we stated on other occasions, Syria has historically played an important role in the Middle East. Prolonged instability and unrest in Syria would have adverse consequences to the peace and stability in the Middle East region. We should all work together for a comprehensive, effective and practical way to help bring a peaceful resolution of the present crisis in Syria. The resolution in its present wording despite some changes in the language still is unbalanced and one sided resolution and does not reflect the reality of the situation in Syria and conveys a wrong message on behalf of this Assembly. We are therefore not in a position to support this draft and we will vote against it.